Micron Technology has announced plans to buy Elpida Memory, the third largest maker of memory chips in the world.

Elpida hasn't had the best of times as of late and the company even filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. Micron will acquire it for $2.5 billion. The deal will see Micron splash out $754 million in cash, while the remaining funds will be aimed at covering Elpida's debt.

The move is expected to expand Micron's manufacturing capacities at a reasonable price. Elpida's factories in Hiroshima, Japan, Rexchip's factory in Taiwan and the same company's testing facility in Akita, Japan, are expected to boost Micron's manufacturing capacity by as much as 50 percent.

Note that Micron has also announced it is buying 24 percent stake in the Rexchip Electronics Corporation from the Powerchip Technology Corporation. Seeing as how Elpida already owns a 65 percent stake there, Micron should come out of the deal with 89 percent of Rexchip ownership as well.

]]>NewsTue, 03 Jul 2012 09:48:27 +0200Spanner in the works for DRAM production https://www.fudzilla.com/news/memory/19576-spanner-in-the-works-for-dram-production
https://www.fudzilla.com/news/memory/19576-spanner-in-the-works-for-dram-production

Key production gear delayed

DRAM production is being slowed because manufactures can't get their paws on some key technology.

According to Digitimes, ASML is taking so long to built its latest immersion system, the NXT:1950i, some Taiwan-based DRAM makers to switch to alternative products. The lead time for the gear has been extended to a year, which is a jolly long time in the chip industry. Elpida Memory's DRAM partners, which include Powerchip, Rexchip and ProMOS Technologies, have had to buy ASML's older-generation immersion scanners due to a longer wait.

While the older gear is cheaper than the NXT ones, they can only provide single-exposure manufacturing down to 38nm. If they have a chance of making 30nm-class products, DRAM makers will still need to upgrade their immersion equipment.

Nanya and Inotera have already got their NXT scanners from ASML, which will help them migrate to 30nm ahead of other Taiwan-based DRAM makers, but ASML had 38 NXT units in backlog at the end of the quarter.